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Child-led learning Archives

As the refugee issue has heated to a boil in our country, my girls have formed their own opinions on the matter. They decided to do something to make refugees in our country feel more welcome. They, practically on their own, organized a holiday drive for the refugee center closest to us. After about…

I’ve said before that we try to avoid too much screen time. However, there are some very important technical skills that kids need to have in the world they will enter. There are also some incredible learning tools out there. One that we have really loved (for all ages!) is Toca Lab. It’s available for…

I posted recently about what, in my opinion, is the hardest thing about unschooling. Today, I wanted to share a snapshot of the best thing: joyful learning. Learning that changes and expands horizons. Learning that sticks. This little 9-year-old wants to build things. Ever since she saw Handy Manny at age 4, she has wanted…

Little children love the world. That is why they are so good at learning about it. For it is love, not tricks and techniques of thought, that lies at the heart of all true learning. Can we bring ourselves to let children learn and grow through that love?

It’s not other people’s concern and comments over socialization and “keeping up.” It’s not the worry that you’re doing it wrong. It’s not the moments when your kids are bored and trying to figure out what’s next. It’s not the constant work of making sure your kids have what they need to explore their various…

This right here is one of the things I love most about unschooling. Strengths are the focus and drive of our lives, not our weaknesses or struggles. Every weakness is a strength in disguise, and I believe that unschooling gives my children the chance to figure that out.

We can best help children learn, not by deciding what we think they should learn and thinking of ingenious ways to teach it to them, but by making the world, as far as we can, accessible to them, paying serious attention to what they do, answering their questions — if they have any — and…

This article on a ten-year old math prodigy, Esther Okade, was shared with me recently. I loved it, but not for the “prodigy” reason. When the child showed great aptitude in math, her parents enrolled her in a private school. Her mom said, “One day we were coming back home and she burst out in tears…

Children must be allowed to dream and have a horizon to work toward. For me there was only one path: I knew from age six that I wanted to fly. Flying was the very breath of life to me and I was successful because I loved it so much.

About me

Welcome! I’m Ann. I’m blessed with one amazing husband and six incredible daughters. We have embraced unschooling, and this is a place to collect and share our thoughts with others who may be interested in a more natural way of learning for their family.